Sarajevo is not the city it once was. There are no longer tens of thousands of inhabitants – some have betrayed it, others have left it. But it can't be blamed for this. Slowly it's coming back to life, as if after an earthquake
After the war, Dule was one of the first Bosniaks to return to Srebrenica, where he opened his restaurant. One year after his death, his son Avdo traces the family history
Northwestern Bulgaria: the poorest region in the EU, hit by the fierce depopulation of rural areas. Yet, despite the difficulties of the present, some do resist – and start back, in small steps - from the treasures of a centenary cultural and culinary tradition
Edith Durham, an author, aid worker and Edwardian traveller in the Balkans, has left an enduring legacy in South East Europe, namely in Albania. A review of the latest Marcus Tanner book on the first British woman to become Vice President of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Belgrade's Astronomical Observatory, a jewel of modernist architecture, houses amazing instruments and magical stories, like that of a mysterious “comet seeker”. Today, the question is how to do justice to what once was a symbol of the city. An interview
In the Iranian town of Isfahan, in the ancient district of New Julfa, lives an Armenian community. From the Ararat supermarket to the Ani cafe, everything here is reminiscent of the deep link of the Armenians to their homeland
The story of Predrag Pašić, old glory of Yugoslav football, is the story of Sarajevo and Bubamara, a small football academy for children founded during the war. Now Bosnian politics is trying to delete this experience, but Pašić assures: "We will keep fighting"
In her documentary "Aici... adica acolo", the journalist and director Laura Capatana addresses the issue of children left behind in Romania leading us through the daily lives of two teenagers
The decision to build a monument to the memory of Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian leader in the former USSR, has sparked a controversy on the soviet legacy and on Russian-Armenian relations
The Bosnian capital has a new shopping centre, the “Sarajevo City Center”. It is the fourth within a radius of a kilometre, in a country where the population is increasingly poor. But the city loves its malls
Turning an area of Belgrade into a Dubai of the Balkans. The Serbian government project for the right bank of the Sava, issued during the election campaign, appears unsustainable to critics
Thirty years ago, from February 8th to 19th, the fourteenth edition of the Olympic Winter Games was held in Sarajevo. A few years after the Olympic facilities, a symbol of common history and life, were targeted by the bombings
The renovation of the centre of Belgrade will involve moving the statue of Dimitrije Tucović, Serbian anti-war activist who died in 1914 and has recently disappeared from the public debate
The outermost island in the Cres-Lošinj archipelago, Unije has always given its inhabitants precious, but limited, resources. Today the island, off the beaten track of mass tourism, is trying to preserve its centuries old delicate balance
After a recent wave of incidents, Serbian authorities have promised draconian measures against hooligans, but seem unable to effectively tackle the problem
On November 9th, twenty years ago, the artillery of the Bosnian Croat army destroyed the Mostar Bridge, a treasure of Ottoman architecture and one of the symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina. People reacted on instinct to the news
The glorious Yugoslav railway system is just a pale memory. Today travel by train in Serbia is uncomfortable, and even risky. Modernization, however, might be on the track
A promenade in Baku's museal system starts at the Haydar Aliyev Center and continues through concrete and futuristic designs. Building the new, however, does not imply maintaining the old
In Belgrade the second edition of the queer studies course just ended. It discussed unconventional perspectives, marginal identities, and emancipatory practices. Osservatorio met with philosopher and activist Dušan Maljkovic, coordinator of the course
Wrestling could be banned from the 2020 Olympic Games program. The entire family of the Balkan, Caucasian, and Central Asian states has teamed up against the decision
In 1970, students Cvjetko and Pavle leave Belgrade to hitchhike their way to the Isle of Wight. An unexpected encounter is awaiting them in France. Back when the word Yugoslavia still opened the doors to Europe
Funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, three students from the United States and Gibraltar are researching and recording traditional music in the South Caucasus to make it available online
Trabzon is a millennial hub of trade and passage. Within its maze of streets stands the church of Aghia Sophia, whose fate is currently at stake as that of its more famous namesake in Istanbul
